Posted by Kendall Raine on January 12, 2001 at 14:03:31:
In Reply to: The law and how its tough to make and sell Nitrox posted by Kevin on January 12, 2001 at 13:07:50:
Kevin;
I am not a scafflaw and I'm certainly impressed with your breadth of understanding of the laws and regs, here. My question, though, concerns the practical reality. Are you aware of litigation or regulatory action arising from alleged violation of these laws/regs? As a professional, you are clearly at greater risk than I as an amateur, but I've never had a problem getting AVO and have only run across the issue of needing a prescription when trying to get USP. I know of several shops that pump USP-presumably under some bogus prescription. Is my supplier playing with fire? How about the dive shop which ferries tanks to the pool in an SUV? Is DOT turning a blind eye to this? As for teaching nitrox, is this then a case of OSHA, State, Fed whomever simply deciding to remain mute because they see no harm? Even if, as you infer, there is no blanket exemption, what's the practical liability of an instructor, certified by an agency to teach nitrox, doing so in conformity with the agancy's standards? Ignorance is admittedly no excuse under the law, but the toothpaste has been out of the tube on Nitrox for ten years and Dick Rutkowski, Jim Hoffman and others are still running around free men.
Kevin, I'm not trying to be the least bit sarcastic or argumentative and I happily concede you know a lot more about the letter of the law/regs than I. It just seems that the government is not enforcing the letter of the law here for the same reason lots of laws are unenforced-they see no practical way to enforce them and/or they see no specific threat to public safety. Your thoughts would be most appreciated.